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From left, Dipika Patel, health and lifestyle coach and Tiffany Dalton, nutritionist give advice to a group at Gilda's Club Desert Cities as part of a special cooking and wellness class aimed at cancer patients. (Photo: Omar Ornelas/ The Desert Sun-USA)

Make a shopping list of things some say might cause cancer and you can easily fill a grocery cart. Beyond the obvious culprit of tobacco, people have pointed to coffee, read meat, diet soda, anything that comes in can, the list goes on.

But how can food help someone already diagnosed with cancer and suffering through the debilitating side effects of treatment? The answer starts simple but can turn specific depending on a patient's needs, says nutritionist Tiffany Dalton.

"People feel intimidated because they feel like they have to be on a very specific diet and there's all of these caveats and things that might feel unattainable to achieve," Dalton says. "But at the end of the day, as long as they're eating real food, their bodies know what to do with that."

"Real" food is not junk food. Its ingredients are as fresh as possible, so Dalton advises people to avoid processed or pre-packaged foods.

Tiffany Dalton, nutritionist, gives a speech at Gilda's Club Desert Cities as part of a special cooking and wellness class aimed at cancer patients. (Photo: Omar Ornelas/ The Desert Sun-USA TODAY NETWORK)

Since January, Dalton has led monthly nutrition classes for cancer patients and their caregivers at Gilda's Club Desert Cities in Palm Desert. A recent session focused on managing side effects of treatment, like weight loss, nausea and constipation, through food.

Dalton covers some of the basics of healthy eating along with diving into trendier habits. When a woman asks about eating organic, Dalton says it's better but not essential. She is a big proponent of MCT oil, a tasteless saturated fatty acid extracted from coconut oil that's gained attention as an energy booster.

Some of Dalton's other tips:

For anyone who feels full quickly while eating (a problem for cancer patients trying to gain or maintain weight), try eating smaller meals throughout the day and drinking most beverages between meals.

For anyone turned off by the smell of foods, try eating the food cold when its aroma will be weaker. Zinc supplements can also help revive a sense of taste affected by cancer treatments.

For anyone with morning nausea, try keeping a bland food such as crackers at the bedside and eating that before rising. Ginger is also a natural nausea-reliever.

Linda and Dan Dapra of Palm Desert enrolled in the Gilda's Club nutrition program after getting the news that Linda had lung cancer.

"After she was diagnosed in September, naturally our lifestyle has completely changed," Dan Dapra said. "My priority is now being the number one caregiver, which is a profession I've had to learn from scratch."

Along with helping the Dapras respond to Linda's weight loss, both are eating better. Dan Dapra, a burger and fries kind of guy, says he's now eating salads every day and grilling salmon twice a week.

From left, Dipika Patel, health and lifestyle coach and Tiffany Dalton, nutritionist give advice to a group at Gilda's Club Desert Cities as part of a special cooking and wellness class aimed at cancer patients. (Photo: Omar Ornelas/ The Desert Sun-USA)

Following Dalton's most recent nutrition talk, the Dapras and other participants walked over to an adjoining kitchen for a cooking demonstration from lifestyle coach Dipika Patel. They sampled a green smoothie then listened as Patel walked them through her process of cooking beef bones and vegetables into a hearty broth that can deliver nutrients in liquid form.

Gilda's Club quadrupled the size of its on-site kitchen with the intention of starting a nutrition program, something the nonprofit's members had requested. Club staff say they often heard complaints that other diet programs focused exclusively on weight-loss, never diving into the full picture of eating well.

A grant from the local H.N. and Frances C. Berger Foundation helped make the program, called Eating for Wellness, a reality. Gilda's Club plans to launch a new cycle of the program after the current one wraps up in June.

The program has been a welcome addition to the support groups and wellness classes Gilda's Club was already offering anyone affected by cancer, including patients, their families, their caregivers and those who've lost a loved one to cancer, said President and CEO Maria Elena Geyer.

"We get that this is not just about losing weight," she said. "This is about how to prepare food and how to prepare yourself for whatever comes your way."

Health reporter Barrett Newkirk can be reached at (760)778-4767, barrett.newkirk@desertsun.com or on Twitter @barrettnewkirk.

Eating for Wellness

For more information about Gilda's Club Desert Cities and its Eating for Wellness program call (760)770-5678 or visit gildasclubdesertcities.org.